dragonballfandomcom-20200225-history
Cell
Cell is a fictional character and major supervillain in the anime and manga Dragon Ball Z, based on the original series by Akira Toriyama and Dragon Ball GT by Toei Doga. He is the ultimate creation of Dr. Gero, designed to have all the abilities of the greatest fighters to have ever inhabited or visited Earth. The result was a "perfect warrior", possessing numerous genetic traits and special abilities. it should be worth noting that he is the only Red Ribbon Android to not have the Red Ribbon insignia on him at one point or another. Cell was designed to have the ability to absorb any biological mass by stabbing his victims with his tail. This process, called "bio extraction," drains all the organic mass out of the target from the inside out. This attack increases Cell's power, the exact amount depending on the victim's power level. Cell was designed to absorb Dr. Gero's other androids (Android 17 and Android 18) whole, integrating them into his systems. Each time he absorbs an android, he evolves into a more powerful being. Like each of the primary antagonists in Dragonball Z (with the exception of Vegeta), Cell was originally intended to be the final villain of the Dragonball manga. Personality Cell's personality changes drastically throughout the saga. He is unique among most villains of the series, being that he is quite sophisticated. As his evolution proceeds, he can be observed as having a more patient and calculative approach towards his goals. Because of his genetic composition from other warriors, he is able to psychologically manipulate those warriors and exploit their weaknesses to his advantage. At first, Cell's desire to complete his evolution and reach perfection is what fueled him. After he reached perfection, the curiosity at the limits of his own "perfect" power was the major trait of his character. It was his curiosity at the limits of his own power when compared to Gohan's that eventually lead to his defeat. With each change of form Cell went through, his personality changed as well. Initially, Cell is single-minded, cautious, and sneaky. Upon reaching his first transformation, he becomes brash, impatient, and loses much (though not all) of his strategic tendancies. Upon reaching perfection, Cell displays a number of traits shared by those whose Cells he posseses; Freeza's polite demeanor, Vegeta's self-confidence, Goku's laid-back disposition, and the Saiyan desire for battling strong opponents. Cell is also unique among Dragonball villains in that he has absolutely no desire for conquest or immortality. Believing he is perfect, he merely desires entertainment, to enjoy his perfection, and after realising his "true purpose", annihilation of everyone and everything. In the English manga, Cell is always referred to as an "it" (Piccolo once says: "we may have to defeat Cell itself"), while in the anime (and the Japanese versions of both) he is referred to as "he." He is likely described that way in the English manga to emphasize the fact that he is an artificial being. Character History * Cell Games * Cell Games Saga Cell's Forms * Imperfect Cell * Semi-Perfect Cell * Perfect Cell * Super Perfect Cell * Cellku Genetic composition and unique abilities Cell's genetic composition is very much a part of his character. In his Imperfect Form, he is clever and calculating, (much like Piccolo) and single minded about achieving his Perfect Form. In his Semi-Perfect Form, he is a little more arrogant, (like Vegeta), but still single minded about achieving his Perfect Form. In his Perfect, Super Perfect, and Cellku forms, he is extremely arrogant (Saiyan), he becomes very smug and he believes that every other living creature is inferior to him, (from Freeza) It is because he is the collected cells of many warriors that makes him "perfect". Cell is composed of cells from Son Goku, Son Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, Tenshinhan, Kuririn, Freeza, King Cold and Nappa . Upon meeting Piccolo for the first time in Ginger town, Cell tells Piccolo that the computer programmed some genetic traits to be more dominant then others. Cell was designed to have the ability to absorb any biological mass by stabbing his victims with his tail. This process, called "bio extraction," drains all the organic mass out of the target from the inside out. This attack increases Cell's power, the exact amount depending on the victim's power level. Cell was designed to absorb Dr. Gero's other androids (Android 17 and Android 18) whole, integrating them into his systems. Each time he absorbs an android, he evolves into a more powerful being. Upon assimilating both 17 and 18, he gains the ability to asexually reproduce, creating blue, child versions of himself, dubbed "Cell Junior". Also, his ability to bio-extract seems to be gone, possibly due to the process becoming useless after reaching perfection. Forms Larvae In Cells first form, he burrows underground for 3 years. When he is finaly mature enough, he grows rapidly and sheds his skin, forming into the Imperfect Cell. Imperfect This form of Cell acts as his base form for fighting without absorbing any of the androids. In this form, Cell spends most of his time stabbing the tip of his tail into people and draining their insides out followed by their skin and bones. This is also the only form to have an aura with the appearance of wailing souls, possibly the ones he's absorbed, and seems to talk more than fight. Because this is his base form, Piccolo was able to fight him almost equally after fusing with Kami, up until Cell broke his neck and blasted through his stomach. Semi-Perfect Once Cell reaches this form by absorbing Android 17, his wings disappear, and he becomes much more humanoid, also becoming bulkier. By this form, he no longer cares about absorbing other creatures, he becomes obsessed with getting the last android. Aside from his obsession, he also becomes slightly more arrogant because of his power increase, as well as rash and impatient. His arrogance was short lived though, as he was easily outclassed by Vegeta's Super Saiyan 2nd Grade form. After finding his Semi-Perfect form no match for his opponent, Cell convinced Vegeta to allow him to absorb Android 18 to reach his Perfect Form. Toriyama also stated in an interview that he intended Semi-Perfect Cell to last longer before transforming to Perfect, but was told by his editor to get rid of him because "He looked funny" Perfect This is The form Cell uses after absorbing both Android 17 and 18. After achieving his Perfect form, Cell is able to easily defeat both Vegeta and Trunks, the latter using Super Saiyan 3rd Grade form. He becomes much more humanoid in this form. He acquires a distinctly humanoid face, his wings reappear, and his tail is retracted. He no longer has a need to absorb other creatures, and the tail is now used for creation of Cell Jr's He becomes significantly more arrogant in this form due to his increase in speed and power, and now only wishes to test his own power. Super-Perfect After Gohan transformed into Super Saiyan 2 for the first time, Cell finds himself unable to hold his own against Gohan, even at full power. Eventually, Gohan kicks cell in the stomach so hard that Cell regurgitates Android 18, making him revert to his Semi-Perfect form. Since beating Gohan was even more hopeless at this point, Cell decided to pull out all the stops and self-destruct in order to kill himself and take Gohan and the rest of Earth with him. In a moment of desperation, Goku uses instant transmission to take Cell to King Kai's planet, who explodes and destroys the planet as well as Goku, King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory. Even after self-destructing, a very small part of Cell's being was still in tact. Because Cell's inherited ability from Piccolo allows regeneration, he is miraculously unharmed, and he regenerates, surprisingly to his perfect form. The organ (known as the "Nucleus") had stored the memory of Cell's perfect power, and regenerated to that form despite the loss of Android 18. Also due to his Saiyan trait of extreme power increase after healing from injury, he was much stronger than he was in his Perfect form, and his power was increased to the point that he was seen with lightning sparks in his aura, much like Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 state. It is quite possible that this form is more powerful than a Super Saiyan 2, due to the big difference in power between himself and Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. In this form, he incapacitates Gohan's arm with one ki blast and without much effort, and also nearly kills Trunks with a single blast. Cell was also able to easily hold his own in a Kamehameha duel with Super Saiyan 2 Gohan, and nearly overpowered him completely at times. To top things off, he absorbed Goku's cells and learned Shunkan Idō. To distinguish this power upgrade from his previous state, this form is often referred to as "Super Perfect" (Ultimate Perfection in the Funimation dub). Cellku The form of Cell after he absorbed Kid Goku in GT. He looks very similar to his Perfect and Super Perfect forms except he is more muscled, obviously far stronger, and is surrounded by blue lightning. Despite only being in this form for about 10 seconds, Cell or Cellku at this point states that he is the strongest being in the universe. Special abilities His absorption abilities aside, Cell does not possess any unique techniques of his own. Instead he has the abilities of those whose cells make up his body from the time when the samples were taken from them. Goku, Piccolo, Nappa and Vegeta had their cells taken during Vegeta's invasion of Earth, while Freeza and King Cold had theirs taken when they invaded during the Trunks Saga later. Among the abilities Cell demonstrated are: *'Absorption': .]] Cell's tail serves one purpose: to absorb other beings into his body. Cell will gain all of the strenght of the person he has absorbed. Cell has two methods of absorption. The first method is to stab the person with the sharp end of his tail. The tail will then suck up all of the organic matter of the victim, leaving the clothing behind. Cell has a second method of absorption, made for people who he wants every bit of strength from. Instead of stabbing the person and draining the person's life force, Cell will instead absorb the person whole. Cell will open up the pointy end of his stinger, and it will become a giant sucker. Cell will bring the sucker down on the person, and the sucker will suck them through Cell's tail into his body. The person will be held unconsious in Cell's body. This method was made for Android 17 and 18, who, due to not being organic, had to be absorbed whole. This is Cell's preferred method, as it gives him full power. Even though Cell's tail retracted after becoming Perfect Cell, it is shown that Cell can still bring his stinger out and absorb other people using this technique. * Barrier: An impenetrable shield Cell places around himself to protect him from attacks. It was most likely taken from Android #17 after Cell absorbed him, though his special barrier could be a technique programmed directly by Gero. * Bukujutsu: The ability to fly, taken from any of the cell samples. * Chonoryoku: Cell can lift objects of large proportionate sizes into the air with his mind and controlling the use of his hand(s). Likely taken from Freeza. * Death Beam (Freeza Beam): A laser-like projectile which travels very quickly. Also known as Death Beam/Finger Beam. Taken from Freeza. * Genki Dama (Spirit Bomb): Cell never uses this technique, though he states that he can use it if he wished. This is likely a bluff, as one must be pure of heart to perform the attack (Cell is pure evil, however, that is a "purity of heart" in and of itself). This is Cell's ultimate attack in the Budokai video game series ("Alright, planet! Give me that stupid energy!") * Kamehameha: A powerful ki wave attack and trademark technique of the Dragon Ball series. Taken from Goku. * Kikoho Blast of rectangle shaped energy. Taken from Tenshinhan (Anime only). * Makankosappo A powerful thin beam of energy. Taken from Piccolo (Anime only). * '''Sai Sei: The Namekian ability to regenerate damage to the body. Taken from Piccolo. * Shunkan Idō (Instant Transmission): The ability to instantly teleport virtually anywhere. Taken from Goku after Cell's self destruction. * Taiyōken (Solar Flare): An extremely bright light which can temporarily blind opponents in near proximity. Taken from Tenshinhan. *'Tsuibi Kienzan A variant of the Kienzan, this energy disk can be controlled by the creator to change direction. Taken from Freeza (Anime only) (note Krillin thought it was taken from him but he can't remotely control his like Cell or Freeza can)' * Zanzōken (After Image): The ability to move extremely fast over short distances, leaving an image behind. Taken from of Goku. *From his Saiyan samples, Cell has the ability to become more powerful after recovering from severe injuries. He also takes on many personality traits that are true to Saiyans, like the desire to fight and test his power. Even though Cell is not categorized as a Super Saiyan, his aura perfectly mimics that of a Super Saiyan; this is connected to his Saiyan heritage. *Cell has Freeza's capability of surviving in outer space, and to revert his form (demonstrated when he reverted to an egg and potentially by his evolving body). He also gained Freeza's telekinesis, and his ability to survive any injury. After Cell achieves his super-perfect form due to his brush with death when he self-destructed, he explains that this is because each individual cell in his body has a life-force of their own. This could in part explain how Frieza can do this. *Though he has Piccolo's regenerative ability, Cell is never shown to use Piccolo's demonstrated body distorting abilities, such as extending his limbs to great lengths or growing his entire body to massive proportions. He also never shows any of the more mystical abilities of Piccolo, such as creating objects out of thin air. It is likely that Cell's asexual reproductive capability in spawning the Cell Junior's is taken from Piccolo's Namekian physiology. Non-manga Anime filler Though Cell was gone, he still caused trouble in the Afterlife after being sent to Hell by Enma Daiō and striking up a partnership with Freeza, King Cold and the deceased Ginyu soldiers Gurd, Reacoom, Butta, and Jheese. Here, he was defeated along with his friends by Goku and Pikkon, and ultimately sentenced to the Afterlife Prison. He and the others are later shown watching Goku's battle with Majin Buu on a huge crystal ball in Hell. Dragon Ball GT In Dragon Ball GT, Cell makes another brief appearance in Hell. He and Freeza team up to try and kill Goku, but Goku is far too strong for them, eventually defeating them and escaping. He was last seen frozen by the coldest ice from Hell, broken in pieces by Goku and arrested by the Oni.An interseting note is during the time Cell for a short time became the most powerful being in the universe by absorbing Goku, although Goku moments later manages to escape, much like how 18 pushed out of his body. Voice actors All three of his forms are voiced by Dameon Clarke in the Funimation dub, by Dale Wilson in the alternate UK & Canadian dub, and by Norio Wakamoto in the original Japanese edition. In the video games Super Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, he is voiced by Christopher Sabat, who in BT2 is credited as "Dartanian Nickleback" (although he is credited without the false name in the game's instruction manual). Dameon Clarke returns to voice the character in Budokai Tenkaichi 3, however. In Brazil he was voiced by the late João Batista in Dragon Ball Z and by Raul Schlosser in Dragon Ball GT. Video games Cell has made an impact in many Dragon Ball Z video games, mostly as a boss or high-end playable character. Though sometimes featured in only his Perfect form, the more recent games in the Budokai series see Cell in his Imperfect, Semi-Perfect, Perfect and Super Perfect (after absorbing Goku's cells) states as well. In addition, in the original game his bulky form from when he battled Gohan was accessible as a boss fight only. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, Cell also has a nightmare during his wait for the Cell Games to start. In this nightmare, Cell succeeds in absorbing #17, but accidentally absorbs Kuririn who pushes #18 out of the way in time, resulting in what would look like a fusion between a Cell Jr. and Kuririn: Cellin, now with a diminutive body with Kuririn's characteristics and orange colors. With his power level taking a drastic drop, Cell is not able to defeat already tired Yamcha before being decimated by Tenshinhan's Kikoho. Then Cell wakes up in a start, seeing that he is still standing in his Cell Games Ring during the middle of the night. Relieved, Cell mutters "I guess ten days is just too long to wait for the tournament," referring to the Cell Games. In the game's sequel, Cell and Freeza can be put under Babidi's influence á la Vegeta or Dabra, becoming Majins. In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Cell makes an appearance along side Freeza in the Fusion Reborn movie saga, even though he was absent in the movie itself. Cell has appeared as a playable character in: * Super Butôden 2 (Super Famicom) * Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension (Super Famicom) * Dragon Ball Z: Buyuu Retsuden (Sega Mega Drive) * Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors (GBC) * Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game (GBA) * Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors (GBA) * Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu (GBA) * Dragon Ball Z: Super Sonic Warriors 2 (DS) * Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai (PSP) * Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai - Another Road (PSP) * Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 (PS1) * Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout (PS1) * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai (PS2 & GCN) * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 (PS2 & GCN) * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 (PS2) * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi (PS2) * Battle Stadium D.O.N (PS2 & GCN) * Super Dragon Ball Z (PS2 & arcade) * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (PS2 & WII) * Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2 & WII) Cell appears as an enemy in: * Dragon Ball Z: Sagas (PS2, GCN, and Xbox) * Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II (GBA) Category:Characters who can fly Category:Artificial humans Category:Cell Category:Villains